


Surround Me With Warmth and Hope

by BrokenHazelEyes



Series: The Pillow Forts [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, captain america: the winter soldier - Fandom
Genre: Blanket Forts, Bucky Angst, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes Returns, Cuddling, Depression, FIx It, Fluff, Kind of Fix It, M/M, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Recovery, bucky fluff, pillow forts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-19
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-05 07:11:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1809781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrokenHazelEyes/pseuds/BrokenHazelEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky was curled up around a thick, fluffy pillow, and other pillows and blankets were arranged around him in an almost nest-like manner. The man had bags under his eyes, and was fast asleep. Steve didn’t have the heart to wake him and ask why there was a fort taking up a large section of the room, nor the heart to leave and grab his phone and get a picture.<br/>---<br/>In which Bucky builds a pillow/blanket fort and cuddles ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surround Me With Warmth and Hope

            Midnight, or the night in general, didn’t bring happy memories or calm to neither the Soldier nor James Barnes. One had memories of drowning in a frozen nothingness, while the other had a nerve-deep twitch of fear that was laced with images of a skinny boy coughing. Even though sleep was dragging down Bucky’s bones the Soldier’s training kept him awake and alert in the corner of the room, half concealed by the bed. The clock above his head clicked on but even as the time passed the notch to mark three days without sleep Bucky’s eyes still stayed open. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep, but it wasn’t safe and Steve was on a mission. _And, though he’d deny it to his dying day, the fact that Steve wasn’t there hindered his sleep more than the fact that he didn’t feel safe. Perhaps it was because he only felt safe with Steve._

            A man’s voice cut through the silence and the darkness of the room, and Bucky jumped slightly but settled back down as Jarvis lowered his tone. The disembodied speech was still unsettling but the AI was growing on him.

            “I apologize, Mr. Barnes, but I must insist you sleep. Despite your above average healing, you still require rest.”

            Bucky rubbed his eyes with the flesh arm, and blew a puff of air from between his lips—which were red and sore from being gnawed on in frustration. His retort was short and sharp, and instantly he winced at the rudeness that escaped his mouth.

            “I’m fine. And you know why I’m not sleeping.” Bucky lowered his head ashamed, and muttered a quick apology.

            “Don’t worry, Mr. Barnes. You are not sleeping correctly because of the lack of the Captain and the inability to feel safe, correct?” The AI asked, with no judgment or mockery, but Bucky blushed anyway.

            A low “yeah” under his voice was all he gave back—but it was laced in Russian and the tongue felt like poison as the accent passed his lips. The flesh was once again bitten down on, the pain clearing the fuzziness in his head from the sleep deprivation.

            “You are not the only one in the tower to suffer from such problems, Mr. Barnes, I can assure you. May I give you some suggestions, if you don’t mind?”

            Before Bucky could react, his phone screen lit up and he unlocked it deftly. The AI’s voice had lowered away into silence, and Bucky knew Jarvis required no more answers and that he’d been left alone to his own devices. He turned back to the message that had appeared on the phone.

            The email, empty of a subject line, had barley any text. It was a simple hyperlink, numbers and letters underlined in blue against the white screen. Without thinking Bucky pressed against the screen and his browser opened to a social media page.

            A large ‘t’ stood in the corner, proud and just as blue as the link that had sent him here, and below it were glistening photos. There were boxes of texts, too, but mostly just barley-illuminated photos that radiated warmth and sanctuary. Blankets were throw across chairs, or tied to the ceiling through intricate webs of rope. Pillows littered the floors of the photos, delicately placed on the thick cushions that made up make-shift beds. Fairy lights were hanging above or below the ceilings of these forts, or dancing across the walls and illuminating them with either white or colorful lights.

            There were a few less glamorous photos, instructional series of images on how to create what they called a “blanket fort” and Bucky hesitantly scrolled down and his lips twitched as he scrolled past giggling faces half obscured by their forts.

            Bucky wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, half-smiling at his phone, but eventually he placed it down and pulled himself to his feet. It surprised him greatly as he realized how long he’d been sitting there- unaware and not paying attention-not being constantly on guard. That fact alone made the man’s heart start to race, but he slowed it and walked toward the bed.

            Pulling off the sheets without much finesse Bucky piled them on the floor and headed for the closet. He pulled out an armful of quilts and blankets, and grabbed the pillows off the bed as he walked to his corner. First the soldier laid down the heavy quilts, thinking back to all the pictures he’d seen and licked his lips in thought.

            The pillows went on next, stacked carefully against the sides and back of the fort, leaving an entrance. Bucky went down on his knees, patting at the floor to make sure it was thick enough and, after adding a few more blankets, deemed it satisfactory. The space was large, easily fitting two or three people, and for a moment Bucky looked away with sadness prickling at his sleepy eyes again. Grabbing a pillow—an extra that had been sitting outside the entrance of the fort—he placed it on the floor in the area where another person could have taken up space. There, now there was only room for one.

            The thought helped a little bit.

            Bucky had to roll back onto his heels as he tried to figure out how to place the roof. The question bounced around in his head for too long a time, so the soldier fell to his knees on the thick padded floor and snatched up his phone. The webpage was still open, and he studied the roofs of these people’s forts carefully. Then he gazed up.

            It took a couple of belts and stolen hair ties, but the roof stayed up and Bucky beamed with the little success. The dresser, which was one of the wall of the fort, had the edge of the blanket tucked into it and the silky sheet flowed onto another wall—the bed. The entrance was kept clear, the blanket tucked into itself, but there was the last wall and that had taken Bucky the longest. There was a window on the third wall, and a bar above held the curtains. He’d taken his belt, and after a few acrobatic moves, managed to tie it around the metal bar. He tied the edge of the blanket to the end of the belt with a hair tie, then fell to the ground and peered up at his work. The roof wasn’t perfect, not like the pictures on the site, but it was his.

            The fort was dark, so Bucky crawled out and padded to the small storage area on Steve’s floor of the Tower . The boxes were all clearly labeled, and he pulled the one labeled “Christmas” toward him before opening it and peering inside with a hopeful smile. The metal hand reached in on almost its own accord, and lifted a string of battered strung lights from the box. They were perfect.

            Bucky walked back to the fort, and looked appraisingly at the lights in his hands. Then, with ways to string them up lighting his eyes, the man plugged them in and ducked into the blanket fort.

            The lights danced through the entrance and fluttered up to the headboard of the bed then ended coiled on the curtain bar. The lights stayed constant in color, just a hazy white that illuminated the fort enough that it was both homely and calm. The warmth collected quickly under the blanket roof, and Bucky smiled as the feeling seeped under his skin and soothed his bones.

            It didn’t take long to get comfortable, and the pillow that took up the spare space soon became Steve’s replacement as a cuddle partner. Both the flesh and metal arm wound their way around the soft square, and his legs drew up close. A lazy, content grin painting his face, Bucky nuzzled the pale material of the pillow and closed his eyes against the soft Christmas lights.

            “Hey, Jarvis?” Bucky called softly, eyes still closed and his body limp in the nest of soft blankets. So, so soft… and warm.

            “Yes, Mr. Barnes?” The AI responded, and Bucky almost chuckled—drunk on the lazy comfort and peace.

            “…Thanks, for the advice.” Bucky muttered into the pillow, sleep quickly crawling up on him. This time, however, he’d let it take him. He wasn’t sure if he could feel in any better position to sleep. Well, if Steve was here sharing the fort it would be perfect, but this was pretty good too.

            “Of course, goodnight, Mr. Barnes.”

            “‘Night, Jarvis.”

 

            Steve returned a few hours after Bucky fell asleep and quietly padded into the bedroom after ridding himself of his suit and shield. He doubted Bucky would be asleep, as Jarvis had let him know that the other man hadn’t been sleeping well. Even so, he wasn’t surprised the lights were off and had to catch himself from calling out to Bucky. In the corner of the room there was a blanket stretched from the bed to above the window, and the edges of a few blankets poking out.

            On light feet the Captain walked over and kneeled next to the non-covered square that made the space between the bed and the wall. Peering inside brought a toothy smile to his face.

            Bucky was curled up around a thick, fluffy pillow, and other pillows and blankets were arranged around him in an almost nest-like manner. The man had bags under his eyes, and was fast asleep. Steve didn’t have the heart to wake him and ask why there was a fort taking up a large section of the room, nor the heart to leave and grab his phone and get a picture.

            Carefully crawling inside, and taking note of the Christmas light, he balanced on his hands and knees on the side where the pillow was. Bucky stirred, and peered up with sleepy, blinking eyes.

            “Steve?” The soldier’s voice was rough, and Steve pecked Bucky’s lips lovingly.

            “Think I can replace the pillow?” Steve asked, tugging at one of the corners.

            Bucky, still half asleep and trying to not pass out on the spot, had to take a moment to process the words before nodding happily and pushing the pillow toward the entrance of his fort. Steve settled in easily, and Bucky simply curled around him instead. This was better, too, because Steve snuggled back into his arms as well.

            Bucky smiled into the golden man’s throat, pressing a delicate kiss at the skin before huffing back into sleep. Steve tried not to laugh, still slightly distraught by how sleep deprived his lover was, and nestled his face into Bucky’s unruly locks.

            Then, he too, fell off into sleep.

           

           


End file.
